Just as the two of them were cornered, the door behind them opened with a squeak, a strong arm reached out from the door, grabbed Wei Chongrong and pulled him inside.
Quick as a flash, Tuoba Xianhan followed him in without waiting for someone to call him, and swiftly closed the door behind him.
With the people searching at both ends, Wei Chongrong and Tuoba Xianhan couldn’t escape. It was an unexpected joy to have someone to help, and they couldn’t care about asking his identity for the time being. But when the man pulled Wei Chongrong into the house, he immediately bowed and said, “Greetings, little prince.”
Wei Chongrong was overjoyed when he heard this and hurriedly asked, “Are you sent by my father to save me?” He knew that Wei Zhao wouldn’t agree to any conditions put forward by the Fuyu people but it was impossible for him not to care about his life and death and leave him behind.
The man didn’t speak, but nodded silently. Wei Chongrong smiled happily at Tuoba Xianhan. The corners of Tuoba Xianhan’s lips were slightly raised, as he calmly said: “There are soldiers searching at both ends. It is not a long-term strategy for us to hide here.”
Wei Chongrong immediately turned his head and looked at the man who pulled him into the house. The man was about forty years old, neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin, with an ordinary face and a typical look that would be forgotten after a glance.
The middle-aged man looked sideways at Tuoba Xianhan, looked him up and down, turned to Wei Chongrong and asked, “Little prince, this is…” The task he received was to find the little prince and try to take him out of the city. This person was unplanned.
Wei Chongrong bit his lip; for a while he didn’t know how to introduce Tuoba Xianhan.
More importantly, he still couldn’t trust him completely. It was just that he had been desperate before. Now that Wei Zhao’s people found him, continuing to take Tuoba Xianhan along was not only inconvenient, but also very dangerous.
Tuoba Xianhan was very good at understanding hints. Before Wei Chongrong organised his thoughts, he was the first to say: “Since someone has come to save you, there is nothing more for me to do, so I will leave now.” After saying this, he turned around and was about to leave.
Unexpectedly, before he took the first step, the middle-aged man grabbed his shoulder: “You can’t go!”
Wei Chongrong and Tuoba Xianhan showed surprised expressions at the same time, only to hear the middle-aged man say: “You go out now, and you’ll just bump into the people searching outside. Won’t you expose the identity of the little prince? You can’t leave for the time being.”
The middle-aged man thought for a while and asked Tuoba Xianhan to wait in the room outside. He pulled Wei Chongrong to the corner, lowered his voice and said something in his ear, then took out a map, roughly explained in a few words, and then stuffed the map into Wei Chongrong’s sleeve.
“Little prince, have you remembered everything?” The middle-aged man asked anxiously.
Wei Chongrong nodded again and again: “I remember, I remember it by heart.” He memorised the map, it was easier than memorising a book.
The middle-aged man smiled in relief and went out to call Tuoba Xianhan, who was waiting outside.
Tuoba Xianhan came in and said, “They’re almost here, there are three more houses on the left and two more on the right.”
The middle-aged man waved his hand, motioning that he didn’t have to say anything else: “You guys come with me.”
Wei Chongrong and Tuoba Xianhan looked at each other and immediately followed into the next room.
After entering the room, the middle-aged man quickly walked to the kang, lifted the mat on it and pressed a mechanism next to the kang, revealing a large dark hole, motioning at Wei Chongrong and Tuoba Xianhan to jump in quickly.
Wei Chongrong didn’t hesitate and jumped down. Tuoba Xianhan was stunned for a moment and then followed him. Before they could see their surroundings clearly, it suddenly became dark around them, and it was obvious that the mechanism above had closed again.
Wei Chongrong got up on his feet, groped around and found a flint and an oil lamp in the place the middle-aged man had mentioned.
By the faint light, Tuoba Xianhan could see that it was a little cellar, with bare walls and a somewhat depressing appearance. He frowned and suddenly thought of a serious problem: if the cellar was discovered, they would be caught in a trap.
At this moment, there was a clanging sound, and a tunnel opened up before his eyes. The wall that seemed solid suddenly had a hole in it, big enough to allow one person to squeeze in.
Wei Chongrong pushed Tuoba Xianhan: “What are you still doing in a daze? Let’s go!”
Tuoba Xianhan came back to his senses and took the lead to enter the tunnel, followed by Wei Chongrong. They crawled a short distance ahead, only to hear another “clang” behind them. Tuoba Xianhan didn’t look back; he knew that Wei Chongrong had sealed the entrance to the tunnel.
The tunnel was very small at first, and they could only crawl inside on their hands and feet. After a while, the tunnel became wider, and they were able to stand up and walk half-bent. Later, with Wei Chongrong’s height, he was able to stand up and walk completely straight.
Tuoba Xianhan became more and more shocked as he walked. This was Qingjia, the capital of Fuyu. The fact that the Great Yan people could pull off such a feat without anyone knowing about it was terrifying.
Wei Chongrong’s face was expressionless, but in fact, the degree of shock in his heart was no less than that of Tuoba Xianhan.
He had only been captured by Helian Zhuo for a little more than ten days, and no matter how powerful Wei Zhao’s men were, it was impossible to dig a tunnel of this scale in such a short period of time. What’s more, there was more than one such tunnel.
When he thought about it, he only could come up with one possibility; that is, after Wei Zhao was captured, someone had thought about saving him. It was just that this person didn’t expect that Wei Zhao would later be transferred outside the city by Helian Zhuo, and these hard-earned tunnels wouldn’t come in handy.
After about a quarter of an hour of walking, the tunnel finally came to an end. Tuoba Xianhan couldn’t see Wei Chongrong’s movements clearly. When the exit suddenly appeared in front of him, he tumbled out through the hole and was instantly overwhelmed by a mountain of large cabbages.
It turned out that this was a vegetable cellar, and most of it was occupied with cabbages stored for winter. It was just that it was spring now, and maybe there were too few people in the family or too many vegetables, but a lot of cabbages were left.
Wei Chongrong followed Tuoba Xianhan to climb out of the vegetable pile. Seeing a cabbage leaf on Tuoba Xianhan’s head, he thought the guy looked quite funny. He couldn’t help laughing, and laughed so much that he had to clutch his stomach.
Tuoba Xianhan didn’t know why he was laughing, so he stretched out his hand to help Wei Chongrong up and easily removed a few yellow cabbage leaves hanging on his head.
Wei Chongrong stopped laughing after a while and helped Tuoba Xianhan take off the leaf as well. It seemed he was the pot calling the kettle black, it was no fun.
Coming out of the vegetable cellar, Wei Chongrong unexpectedly found that there was no one in the house, but he didn’t go into detail, pulling Tuoba Xianhan over the wall to leave in a hurry. According to the instructions of the middle-aged man, this was only his first step out of the city. He had to be careful and not make a single mistake.
After successfully climbing over the low wall, Wei Chongrong saw that there was no one around and whispered to Tuoba Xianhan: “It’s time for us to part ways. As you said, we will meet again.” For the next section, he could no longer take Tuoba Xianhan with him.
Tuoba Xianhan raised his eyebrows and smiled: “Little prince, in order to help you, I offended His Majesty and Lord Herong at the same time. When you return to Qingjia City, if I haven’t been killed by them by then, remember to come and save me.”
Wei Chongrong nodded and promised, “I will.” This time, he would try to trust Tuoba Xianhan.
Tuoba Xianhan took out a short knife from his sleeve and threw it to him: “It’s for your self-defence.” After speaking, he turned around and left without hesitation.
Watching Tuoba Xianhan leave, Wei Chongrong turned and ran towards the location of the second tunnel entrance.
In Fuyu Palace, Helian Zhuo was furious at Herong Ling, roaring angrily: “Didn’t you say that the little bastard must be in the city? Where is he? Tell me, where is he?”
The Great Yan’s army was about to besiege the city, and he had already sent someone with a message to Wei Zhao that if he didn’t retreat, he would kill his son by a thousand cuts. Who knew that at the critical moment, Yi Yin would be nowhere to be found? If Herong Ling hadn’t gotten him out of the palace, this wouldn’t have happened.
Herong Ling seemed to be enjoying Helian Zhuo’s angry expression. Waiting until he had finished yelling, Herong Ling said leisurely: “I admit, I underestimated the ability of your little bastard, but whether he’s here or not, he is useless to change our unfavourable situation.”
“Impossible!” Helian Zhuo gritted his teeth, “Don’t look at Wei Zhao’s words, if his son is executed in front of him, he will be soft-hearted. I understand his character. He won’t be able to stand it…”
Herong Ling sighed, showing a trace of pity on his face, and said solemnly: “Helian Zhuo, I don’t doubt your understanding of Wei Zhao, but what I want to tell you is that Ji Xin has already rushed over from the Wusu Steppes.”
Helian Zhuo was stunned, speechless and in a daze, as if he was shocked by Wei Zhao’s unexpected approach.
Herong Ling stood up and said solemnly: “Wei Zhao’s attitude is obvious. He will not back down under any circumstances. So there’s no need for us to play any other games. Let’s go to the battle honestly, that’s what men should do.”
“Where are you going?” Seeing that Herong Ling was about to walk out of the room, Helian Zhuo asked loudly.
“I’m going up to the city tower.” Herong Ling said without looking back: “The city is the people. The city is broken and the people are dead.”
He wasn’t Farida; even if he had known the result of the war a long time ago, it was impossible for him to wait for the doomed defeat with peace of mind. He would never run away from his responsibilities, and as for the result, it was beyond his control.
After Herong Ling left, Helian Zhuo sat in silence for a long time, not saying a word, nor summoning anyone to serve him.
After a long time, he finally ordered: “Pass the order, stop the search of the city. All the soldiers, prepare for the battle.” Herong Ling was right. The war that the Great Yan had waged against Fuyu was not motivated by personal grudges from the very beginning.
Compared to Youzhou, which had been included in the territory of the Central Plains hundreds of years ago, Qingjia City, and the Baihe Plain where it was located, were the homeland of Donghu. Later, it was occupied by the Fuyu people. It had nothing to do with any dynasty in the Central Plains.
Huo Qingyang followed Wei Zhao all the way from Hecheng. He could obviously feel that the resistance they encountered in Qingjia City was unprecedented in its strength and stubbornness, causing great problems for their attack.
Just because Wei Zhao had given command to Ji Xin didn’t mean that he wasn’t dressed in the armour ready for the battle. However, the thing that frightened him the most never happened. Whether it was because they failed to find Wei Chongrong or for some other reason, the Fuyu people never threatened him with his son.
“On my command! Shoot!”
Even on a spring day, the wind in Qingjia was bitterly cold, cutting like a knife.
Herong Ling’s calm voice came with the wind; hundreds of arrows were fired in unison, and the Great Yan soldiers on the siege ladders had nowhere to hide. But those who were not shot down, still didn’t hesitate and continued to climb up.
Qingjia was the capital of Fuyu. Once the capital was broken, the country would be as good as dead. Therefore, no one needed to say anything. All the soldiers in Fuyu were desperate to defend their city.
As time passed, the speed of the archery gradually slowed down, and Huo Qingyang took the lead and was the first to climb the city tower.
Before he could get a firm foothold, Herong Ling, who was not far away from him, thrust a spear at him, and Huo Qingyang barely managed to dodge.
Herong Ling was about to strike again when he heard the wind behind him and sensed something wrong. He leapt to the side and when he looked back, he saw three arrows neatly arranged in a row in the wall where he had just stood.
Huo Qingyang knew that Wei Zhao was helping him from below, so he grinned happily. Taking advantage of the fact that Herong Ling was distracted, he drew his sword and attacked him. Herong Ling avoided Wei Zhao’s arrows but could no longer deal with Huo Qingyang, so he had to withdraw.
Although Fuyu’s soldiers were desperate enough, the gap in the number of people between the two sides was there. After Huo Qingyang, more and more soldiers of the Great Yan climbed the city tower, and the two sides engaged in short battles on the high city wall, with the losers falling down from time to time.
Under the city wall, there were countless corpses piled up, both Fuyu people and the Great Yan people.
Before dark, the southern city gate was finally broken by a huge log. Wei Zhao led people into the city, and Fuyu’s momentum was gone.
The city inside was more chaotic than outside. Although Wei Zhao had already ordered that the city should not be slaughtered, in the face of the Fuyu people who spontaneously resisted, it was impossible for the Great Yan’s soldiers not to fight back. Bloody conflicts occurred frequently, but fortunately, they didn’t turn into a large-scale melee.
Wei Zhao was anxious, and while ordering his men to stabilise the situation in the city, he sent people to search for Wei Chongrong’s whereabouts.
Huo Qingyang was the greatest hero today. He was the first person to climb the city tower and he also captured Helian Zhuo alive.
“Where is Helian Zhuo? Take me to him quickly.” Wei Chongrong couldn’t be found for a long time, and Wei Zhao couldn’t help wondering if he had fallen into Helian Zhuo’s hands. But in this case, why hadn’t Helian Zhuo used him when the two armies were facing each other?
In the end, Helian Zhuo was the monarch of the country; although the country was dead, the people under Wei Zhao’s command treated Helian Zhuo well. At least he was in a single room, not like others crowded together.
Motioning to his soldiers to wait outside, Wei Zhao entered the room alone and asked in a deep voice, “Tell me, where is Rong’er?”
When Helian Zhuo saw Wei Zhao again, his expression was a little weird, as if he was smiling yet not smiling. He stared at Wei Zhao for a moment, then beckoned to him: “Ah Zhao, come over a little closer. It’s too dark here, you’re standing too far away, I can’t see clearly.”
Wei Zhao’s face was expressionless as he said coldly: “I asked you where is Rong’er. You can hear me, you don’t need to be able to see me.”
“Ah Zhao, a day of being a husband and a wife is worth a hundred days of grace, don’t be so ruthless, okay?” The more Helian Zhuo said and did, the less he was able to restrain himself.
Wei Zhao gritted his teeth, rushed to Helian Zhuo and punched him in the chest violently, causing him to cough incessantly.
Helian Zhuo raised his hand to wipe away the coughed up blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled: “Beating is like kissing and scolding is like loving, I know Ah Zhao is not really heartless towards me, ahem…”
Wei Zhao wasn’t interested in Helian Zhuo’s “flirting” and said sharply: “Enough! All you have to do is to tell me where Rong’er is.”
“What’s the benefit of telling you?” Helian Zhuo smiled wickedly, making Wei Zhao frown unconsciously.
Seeing Wei Zhao frowning in thought, Helian Zhuo smiled and said, “Ah Zhao, come and kiss me, and I will tell you everything.”
“Dream on!” Wei Zhao subconsciously stepped back and a murderous intent appeared in his eyes.
Helian Zhuo looked up to the sky and smiled: “I have given you a chance, you don’t want it yourself.”
Wei Zhao was furious and quickly walked to the door, asking, “Still no news of the little prince?” As long as Wei Chongrong wasn’t in the hands of Helian Zhuo’s men, after the city was broken, he could have come on his own, how could he have been unable to find him, could he be…
The soldiers shook their heads. They were looking everywhere and they really couldn’t find Wei Chongrong’s whereabouts.
Wei Zhao bit his lip, turned around slowly, returned to the room and walked towards Helian Zhuo.
“How is it? I didn’t lie to you, did I?” Helian Zhuo smiled triumphantly; the wound on his face was pulled and he couldn’t help but stiffen a little.
Wei Zhao pursed his lips and stared into Helian Zhuo’s eyes. Helian Zhuo didn’t show any weakness and looked straight at him.
In the end, Wei Zhao closed his eyes and slowly leaned over. No big deal, just think about it as about being bitten by a dog.
A moment before Wei Zhao’s lips touched Helian Zhuo’s, an excited voice sounded outside the door: “Your Highness, the little prince is back…”
Wei Zhao’s eyes widened and he stared at Helian Zhuo fiercely. After a while, he spit out one word: “Stupid!”
Helian Zhuo sighed regretfully: “I’m going to die anyway, I wanted to fulfil my last wish, no matter how excessive it was.” Damn little bastard, he was generous enough to let him off the hook; couldn’t he come back a little later?
Wei Zhao ignored him and left. His eyes were dark and obscure, the expression in them so complicated that no one would be able to understand it.
As soon as Wei Zhao walked out the door, Wei Chongrong rushed over calling all the way: “Daddy, Daddy!”
Wei Zhao opened his arms, hugged his son who was running towards him, and said in a trembling voice, “Where have you been? Why are you so late?”
Wei Chongrong hugged Wei Zhao back, rubbed his head against his chest, raised his head and said, “I got trapped in the tunnel…”
He walked in strict accordance with the instructions on the map and saw that he had passed the penultimate tunnel and could leave the city by walking one more. But there was a problem with the switch in the tunnel and it couldn’t be opened no matter what. Wei Chongrong had no choice but return the same way, intending to come out through the last entrance.
Then something even more tragic happened. The switch at the entrance of the tunnel was a one-time thing. Wei Chongrong couldn’t open it from inside, so he couldn’t get out.
“What?” Wei Zhao looked down, only to find that Wei Chongrong was dirty all over, and hurriedly asked, “How did you get out?”
Wei Chongrong took out a short knife with a curved blade and said gratefully: “Thanks to it, I could chisel a hole in the stone door.”
Wei Zhao picked up his son’s hands covered with blood blisters, and asked in distress: “Rong’er, how long have you been chiselling?”
Wei Chongrong shook his head and replied: “I don’t know. The tunnel was dark and I couldn’t see anything. I could only keep chiselling the stone door that wouldn’t open. I didn’t dare to stop, let alone sleep…”
Several times, he wanted to give up. The stone door was thick and hard, and with his meagre internal strength, he could barely chisel a mark on it.
Moreover, after repeated movements for a long time, his arms ached unbearably, and he was almost unable to lift them up. His physical strength was also at its end. He was hungry and sleepy, and he couldn’t hold on anymore, so he pinched his palms and fingertips desperately to prevent himself from falling asleep.
Wei Zhao didn’t dare to calculate how long his son had been trapped in the tunnel. He picked up Wei Chongrong as he had done when he was a child, and as he walked to his quarters, he ordered someone to summon the military doctor quickly.
Translator’s note: So, guys, what do you think about the tunnels? Who was the one who built them intending to save Wei Zhao? As much as I think about it, there are many people who would want to save him but only one person who had enough financial and human resources for such a project – it’s Wei Su. There is no answer in the book. What are your ideas? 🙂